The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Compilation album by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Released	1988 (1988)
Genre	Classical crossover
Label	Really Useful Group

The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a 1988 compilation album, bringing together some of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's best known compositions at the time of release. It includes songs from the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Tell Me on a Sunday, Evita, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Starlight Express and Requiem. Co-writers of the songs include Tim Rice, Don Black, Richard Stilgoe, Charles Hart and Trevor Nunn.

The album spent two weeks at number one in the UK Compilation Chart in January 1989.^[1][2]

It was released by Really Useful Records and Polydor on LP (with a gatefold cover), cassette and CD.

Track listing

Side one

1. "The Phantom of the Opera" - Sarah Brightman & Steve Harley - 4:37 (from The Phantom of the Opera)
2. "Take That Look Off Your Face" - Marti Webb - 3:56 (from Tell Me on a Sunday)
3. "All I Ask of You" - Sarah Brightman & Cliff Richard - 4:05 (from The Phantom of the Opera)
4. "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" - Julie Covington - 4:02 (from Evita)
5. "Magical Mr. Mistoffelees" - Paul Nicholas - 5:10 (from Cats)
6. "Four Variations for Cello & Orchestra" - Julian Lloyd Webber - 4:12 (from Song and Dance)
7. "Superstar" - Murray Head & Cast - 3:56 (from Jesus Christ Superstar)

Side two

1. "Memory" - Elaine Paige - 4:26 (from Cats)
2. "Starlight Express" - Ray Shell - 5:02 (from Starlight Express)
3. "Tell Me on a Sunday" - Marti Webb - 3:30 (from Tell Me on a Sunday)
4. "The Music of the Night" - Michael Crawford - 5:12 (from The Phantom of the Opera)
5. "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" - Barbara Dickson - 3:18 (from Evita)
6. "I Don't Know How to Love Him" - Yvonne Elliman - 3:56 (from Jesus Christ Superstar)
7. "Pie Jesu" - Sarah Brightman & Paul Miles-Kingston - 3:58 (from Requiem)

Charts

Chart performance for The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Chart (1988–1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3]	1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[4]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[5]	16
UK Albums (OCC)[6]	100

Certifications and sales

Certifications for The Premiere Collection: The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[7]	2× Platinum	200,000[8]
Canada (Music Canada)[9]	Platinum	100,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[10]	3× Platinum	900,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Top 20 Compilation Albums: January 15-21, 1989". Record Mirror. Spotlight Publications: 47, column B. 18 January 1989.
2. "Top 20 Compilation Albums: January 22-28, 1989". Record Mirror. Spotlight Publications: 47, column B. 25 January 1989.
3. "Australiancharts.com – – The Premiere Collection - The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
4. "Charts.nz – – The Premiere Collection - The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
5. "Swedishcharts.com – – The Premiere Collection - The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
6. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
7. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1989". Aria Charts.
8. "Pacing the Majors" (PDF). Billboard. 20 January 1990. p. A-10. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
9. "Canadian album certifications – Andrew Lloyd Webber – The Premiere Collection". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
10. "British album certifications – Andrew Lloyd Webber – The Premiere Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 September 2020.